Horse Racing Fantasy Community

Those of you who've seen my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/gfn02) or read my previous posts may have noticed something that might seem strange at first: the fact that when I actually write the name of the 1973 Triple Crown Champion, I write it in capital letters. To accurately tell this story, I have to take you back to the year 1989, specifically October 4th. Now, I remember that it was a school night (I checked and it was indeed a Wednesday). My 7th grade homework assignments, if I had any, went totally ignored because, as fate would have it, The Chicago Cubs were making one of their fruitless bids for the World Series, with the NLCS opening up. I specifically remember his death being announced throughout the day, with the inevitable highlight footage him heading to the wire in the '73 Belmont, hearing the excitement in Anderson's voice, as well as the crowd cheering wildly. It really made an impression on me, the clips of that Belmont, certainly, but more so just the IDEA of them going through all this trouble for a horse, and so that is the day my fascination with the great horse began, and it has never abated.

Anyway, the next day my dad took me to the OTB at Arlington Park to watch the harness races from Maywood. I remember not really understanding how to handicap at all; I'd watch my dad and others look through their Daily Racing Form programs, but in actuality had no clue how to interpret the data. Every once in a while my dad would place a $2 bet for me on a horse I would pick. Most of the time I would just pick the horse with the best name. Needless to say, I would get bored much of the time. However, I keenly remember that October 5th evening at that Arlington OTB: Before the first call to the post, all of the closed-circuit TV's began this tribute to the great horse. Turns out, he had graced Arlington with his presence on June 30th, 1973, winning easily by nearly 10 lengths in a nationally televised race, his first since winning the Belmont. Mayor Richard J. Daley named the day in his honor. The tribute lasted about 3 or 4 minutes, and at it's conclusion the PA announcer asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of this champion. It was so quiet I could occasionally hear sniffles and whimpers from the crowd. The whole experience really left an impression on me.

After the races started I began wandering around, and I happened to strike up a conversation with an old man who told me this amazing story about being at the track that day in '73 and seeing how the people responded to him. This old man was the one who told me about his amazing victories in the Triple Crown races. He also tried to explain just why his victories were so special. I didn't really understand all of it at the time, but I was hooked, and my imagination took over from there.

I read a lot, and John Irving has always been one of my favorite authors. A book he wrote called A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my favorites. The title character in the book is totally unique in every way imaginable, including his voice. This presented a problem for Irving: how to convey this sense on the written page. His solution was to write the words in capitals whenever Owen Meany spoke, and the effect was achieved.

The more I've learned about the 1973 Triple Crown winner, the more I've come to realize he was also singularly unique, a horse unlike any other. That's the reason I refer to him as SECRETARIAT. All you have to do is watch the Belmont for the greatest example:

gfn02